HOW TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT IN FRANCE IF YOU WORK IN FRANCE

Are you moving to France and need to open a Bank account? One thing people ask about is how to open a bank account. These days, you may not even need to open one. Many people opt to use international banking solutions like WISE. In fact, if you would like to open a Wise account (which allows for very inexpensive bank transfers, you can use our WISE COUPON CODE by following this link (you will get a Free transfer up to $600).

If you are a French resident, not on a tourist visa, you have the right to open a French bank account. Like many European countries, this process is not always so easy.

Are you moving to France? We highly recommend taking even 1 hour of cultural training + online French classes or learn some vocabulary.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT IN FRANCE?

• Residence permit – (If you dont have this consider using Wise)
• Photo ID (or passport)
• Proof that you live at an address:
  • • You can bring a gas, electricity, water or landline bill with your name on it, or if you don’t have that you can bring a signed declaration that you are being housed free of charge, along with a copy of one of their bills and their photo ID. Sometimes banks in France also accept documents that show your address from outside of the country.
• Proof of income: tax return or pay stub
• Three of your most recent bank statements
• Foreign tax identification number (Social security number)

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT IN FRANCE?

After all of that paperwork they will perform a background check and therefore it still may take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to get your bank account. Given the headache, that is why we recommend seeing if there is another method your employer can use, for example paying into your wise account. For the most part, French Employers will require a French bank account.

There is more detailed info HERE